A Cold Winter's Night
by sssms
Summary: Bosco, Little Finney, and Santa?
1. Default Chapter

A Cold Winter's Night

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

SPOILER WARNINGS!!!

AU WARNINGS!!!

Premise: Bosco and Little Finney are on patrol together on Christmas Eve 2005. A call goes array and they find themselves in an alternative universe.

Rating: G to PG -13, not sure.

Christmas Eve, 2005

"You're doing it again."

"What?"

"You're doing it again!"

"What?!"

"Singing" Bosco grumbled.

The last year and a half had been a very difficult one for Maurice Boscorelli, beginning with his brother's horrible death and then his own near death experience. After spending weeks in a coma and several more weeks in physical therapy, he was finally cleared to work the desk at the beginning of 2005. But he still continued rehabilitating for the next three months before being cleared for the streets.

Although he'd grumbled about working the desk, being back on the streets was much more difficult an adjustment than Bosco had expected. His anxiety level was extremely high and he found himself fearing those same calls he would have jumped to take before. The first time he'd had to deal with a perp with a gun, he thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He was glad that he had been riding with John Sullivan that day. No matter how much he'd complained about Sully in the past, he knew that Sully could handle himself on the street and would have his back.

All in all, a lot had changed while Bosco had been in the hospital. Faith and Fred had divorced, something he still found hard to believe. Faith and Cruz had developed some kind of unspoken bond that he didn't think he'd ever understand. Ty and Sully had gone through some major difficulties, but it seemed that their relationship was stronger now than ever before. Sasha Monroe had been exposed as a rat, an IAB operative. Bosco had to wonder if she'd initially been sent in to investigate him and Cruz. And still felt a little betrayed knowing that she rode with him and asked him personal questions while being undercover. He had thought of her as a friend and now it was difficult to know what had been real and what had been fake. But she'd managed to redeem herself, at least in some ways. She had helped take down C.T. Finney, one of the head honchos in IAB, and the father of his partner of the night, Brendan Finney.

Brendan Finney, or Little Finney as Sully referred to him behind his back, had had a difficult year himself. From the very beginning everyone had judged him based on his father's reputation. And things had gotten worse before they'd gotten better. After C.T. Finney's exposure as Ty Davis, Sr.'s killer and his ultimate death, Brendan had taken a leave of absence from the force. He'd based his whole life's goals on his false ideas about his father and on trying to make the man proud. He'd become a cop because it was what was expected. And finding out the truth about the man he'd always respected, shattered Brendan's world. But in the end, he decided that being a cop was really what he wanted, and that he had to be his own person and make his own way on the force. So despite the disbelief of many of his colleagues, he'd asked Lieutenant Swersky if he could come back.

He and Bosco had both been through a number of partners as Swerky tried to match them both up with someone. But a couple of weeks ago, Swersky had decided to put them together. Bosco had been out when everything with C.T Finney went down, so he didn't have the same hesitancy towards Finney as many of the others did. And Swersky felt it would be good for Bosco to focus on training a younger officer. He'd recognized Bosco's insecurity over the last few months and felt that this might be a chance for him to build up his confidence again. Swerksy's superiors thought he'd lost his mind, but other than a lot of friendly bickering, the two officers seemed to be working well together. Well, most of the time.

"You're doing it again!"

"What?!"

"Singing" Bosco grumbled.

"What? What's wrong with a little Christmas spirit?" Finney argued.

"Just keep your Christmas spirit to yourself." Bosco growled.

Brendan shook his head and looked back out the window at the falling snow. He'd been depressed for the larger part of the year. But just recently, things had been starting to look up. Grace Foster had stuck by him, even when he'd been so angry that he could barely stand himself. And in the last few weeks, something had changed. He'd decided he loved her, truly loved her. And tonight after the shift he was planning to tell her just that.

And so he found himself humming or singing Christmas songs and riding in the car with the Grinch himself. He'd never met Bosco before the shooting incident, but he'd heard about it and was impressed. Yeah, he'd heard other things about Bosco from some of the other cops, some not so good things. But the guy took four bullets to protect his partner, which in Brendan Finney's book made him an ok guy. An ok guy, but still a grump. He had more mood swings than a premenstrual woman. And tonight was no exception.

"You know, a little Christmas spirit wouldn't hurt you, man." Finney pointed out.

Bosco just glared at him. He hated to work during a snow storm, but more than that he was tired. He hadn't slept well for the last week because he'd been dreaming about Mikey. Mikey had always loved Christmas and this season Bosco just couldn't seem to get Mikey off of his mind. For the first time in a long time on Christmas Eve, he didn't want to be working. He wanted to spend the evening with Rose before going to mass with her.

The radio came to life. "55-David, we have report of a possible jumper on the Clairmont Bridge."

"Great" Bosco mumbled, as Finney flipped the lights and siren.

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Bosco and Brendan pulled up to the bridge around 8:00 PM. It was a smaller, older bridge that was now used as part of a walking and biking trail. There was still a nice tributary of water below it, although it was usually frozen over at this time a year. And as had been reported, there was a woman standing on one of the concrete rails, looking down at the water below.

Bosco stopped to talk to the man that had called the incident in. He quickly gathered that the woman was the man's wife. They'd had a fight and she'd left home upset. The husband found her here, but she'd climbed onto the railing when he'd tried to get her to come home. So he'd called the police.

Meanwhile Brendan headed out onto the bridge.

"Hey" Bosco called out, leaving the man behind and catching up to Brendan. "What are you doing? Just stay back and let me handle this." Bosco ordered, grabbing Brendan's arm and pulling him to a stop just a few yards from the woman.

"I've dealt with jumpers before." Brendan grumbled, pulling his arm out of Bosco's grasp and stepping closer. He eased over to the edge of the bridge, still a couple of yards from the would be jumper. Looking over the edge he commented. "Hey, Lady. I don't think you want to jump from there. The water's all frozen over. It's gonna hurt for sure and probably won't kill you." Brendan stopped abruptly as Bosco pulled him back away from the woman and the bridge railing.

"What are you doing? What kind of approach is that? I told you to stop and let me handle this." Bosco started, only to have Brendan arguing back at him.

The woman looked at the two in astonishment. They were supposed to be keeping her from jumping to her death, but were too busy arguing like school children. She cleared her throat. "Um…excuse me. But it's cold up here."

Both officers stopped abruptly and looked up at the woman on the bridge railing. Brendan started to speak, but Bosco pushed him back slightly and stepped toward the woman.

"Ma'am, we need you to step down from there before you get hurt." He instructed calmly.

"But I can't. I'm going to jump." The lady replied.

"What's going on, Ma'am?" Bosco questioned. "It's Christmas Eve. Surely things can't be so bad that you want to kill yourself on Christmas Eve."

"Christmas is ruined. That's the problem." The woman replied, and broke down in tears.

"It's ok, Ma'am. Just take it easy." Bosco soothed, as Brendan slowly made his way around to the other side of the woman. "What's the problem, Ma'am? Maybe we can help you." Bosco suggested.

"Our Christmas tree burned and destroyed all the presents. We don't have the money to buy more presents for the kids. My husband doesn't understand. I couldn't help that I was laid off from my job. Or that Andy had to have his asthma medicine. Or that our car broke down. And I didn't exactly get pregnant again by myself." She cried, her whole body shaking.

"Madeline, I didn't mean that. I was just angry." The husband replied as he approached.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, STEVEN! STAY AWAY! I'LL JUMP!"

"Sir, just step back, ok." Bosco instructed, holding a hand up to motion to the man.

"Ma'am, please just calm down. You're upset. But you don't want to hurt yourself, now do you?" Bosco questioned, glaring at Finney as he made a step towards the distracted woman then stopped.

The woman sniffled loudly. "I don't know. I'm so cold."

Bosco had eased up to the edge of the railing, just a few feet from the woman. Looking over, he commented, "You know, Ma'am. I don't think you want to jump from there. The water's all frozen over. It's gonna hurt for sure and probably won't kill you."

"It won't?" The woman asked, looking back down at the ice covered water.

"No, it won't. So why don't you come down?" Bosco asked, as Finney made another step closer to the woman, but caught her attention this time.

"STAY BACK!" the woman screamed at Finney, taking a quick step away from him and towards Bosco only to place her foot down on an icy spot on the snow covered railing.

She stumbled and began to fall forward as Bosco grabbed her. But he wasn't able to stop her from tumbling over the bridge railing and, in fact, found himself being pulled over as well by the woman's weight. Grabbing frantically for the railing with one hand, while trying to hold onto the pregnant woman with the other, he felt Finney's hands briefly grabbing at his pants leg and then was over the railing and falling head first towards the ice covered tributary.

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Disclaimer #2: I do not own the Grinch.


	2. A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 2

A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Bosco could hear his own screams battling with the screams of Madeline. The fall, terrifying as it was, was brief. The ice was thin, as expected and shattered as Madeline made contact, her outstretched hands shielding her head from the major impact.

Bosco felt his shoulder hit something that was semi-solid, but was then engulfed by the icy waters. Momentarily stunned, he struggled to get his bearings, his breath catching in his throat. After what seemed like an eternity to his shocked system, he finally broke the surface of the water. Gulping in the freezing night air, his lungs constricted. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" he moaned, still unsure of what was happening. He struggled to stay afloat, frantically scanning the dark waters around him. It was Finney's voice that reoriented him.

"BOSCO! BOSCO! ARE YOU OK?" Finney shouted, then mumbled. "Holy crap." Fingering his radio, he called in a 10-13 and quickly explained the situation.

Bosco tried to find Finney in the darkness. Glancing up at the bridge towering overhead, he remembered the call, the jumper on the railing. 'Madeline!'

"Answer me, Boscorelli. Are you ok? Where's the lady?"

Bosco shuddered, partially from the freezing water and partially from fright. Scanning the waters again frantically, he saw no sign of Madeline. "I'm …o..kay." He studdered, startled at his own chattering voice. "Don't see her…Can you…..see…her?"

Finney shined his flashlight across the water. He could see Bosco bobbing like a cork, but no sign of the lady. "No, I can't." Fingering his radio again, he notified central that they would need a rescue crew and a bus, and seeing Bosco plunge back under the water, he added "and hurry."

Despite every nerve ending in his body screaming for him to get out of the water, Bosco's conscience had told him otherwise. So taking a deep breath, he dove back under the murky water, scanning the area as best he could, hoping against hope to find the missing woman. As his hands hit the soft sandy bottom, he moved along it, groping around almost aimlessly the visibility was so poor.

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Finney leaned over the bridge railing, shining his light at the huge hole in the ice while a frantic Steven paced and muttered in the background.

"You have to do something!" Steven cried, supporting himself on the railing and shaking his head in disbelief.

"What can I do, man? The rescue squad is on the way." Finney assured him. Turning back to the scene below, Brendan bit his lip. 'Come on Boscorelli. You've been down too long.'

Much to his relief, Bosco broke the surface, one arm flailing and the other holding Madeline against him.

"Good job, man!" Finney shouted in relief.

Bosco just grunted, trying to get to the edge of the ice. Madeline was dead weight added to the already cumbersome weight of his vest, gun belt, and shoes. His coat kept floating up, making it more difficult for him to swim. His relief at finally reaching the edge of the ice was short lived as the ice broke away when he grabbed it, causing Bosco and Madeline to plunge beneath the icy surface once again. He came up sputtering, but made sure that he kept Madeline's head above water. "FINNEY!" He shouted, between coughs. "Finney, help me!"

"Help's on the way man." Brendan called back to him.

"MADELINE! Madeline, sweetheart." Stephen called desperately.

Bosco maneuvered over to the ice again, and this time rested his hand on it more gently, floating on his back while still holding Madeline against him. "FINNEY! HOW….FAR….OUT?" Bosco called, his teeth chattering, breathing rapid. His whole body shook and his skin felt like it was on fire.

"Don't know." Finney called back. "Shouldn't be long." He assured Bosco, then called back into his radio to see how far out they actually were. Hearing sirens in the background, he was relieved. "Help's on the way, partner. Just hang on."

His relief was also short lived, when he realized that Carlos and Grace had arrived, but no rescue team.

"Where's rescue? We gotta get them out of there." Brendan questioned.

"There's a huge apartment fire over on Seventeenth Street. It has more than one precinct in the area tied up. What's going on?" Grace asked, following Brendan to the edge of the bridge.

"That's what's going on." Brendan pointed to Bosco and Madeline still floating in the middle of the water.

"Whoa! Dude, how'd they get down there?" Carlos asked.

"They just decided to take a Christmas Eve swim." Finney replied sarcastically. "They fell over. How do you think they got down there?"

"I was just asking, man. Relax." Carlos replied.

"How long have they been down there, Brendan?" Grace questioned seriously.

"I don't know. Five, maybe ten minutes. I don't know." Brendan answered.

Carlos and Grace exchanged looks.

"What?" Brendan asked. "What's wrong?"

"As cold as that water is, it's only a matter of time before they get hypothermic. They're not going to last long." Carlos replied, as Grace got on her radio to central to let them know how urgent the situation was.

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"Ahh" Bosco moaned, struggling to stay afloat. His hands and feet didn't burn as badly, but they felt numb and his movements felt sluggish. He had had some cold weather survival training in the Rangers and he knew that he was probably getting hypothermic. 'Think Boscorelli.' He knew he had to try to stay focused no matter what. "What better way to stay focused than to have a conversation with someone, right Madeline?"

Of course Madeline didn't respond, so he decided to try another option. "Finney." He called out, noting how faint his voice sounded. "Finney."

He could hear Finney talking to someone in the background, but couldn't make out the voices. "Finney, shut up you moron and talk to me!" His voice sounded stronger this time.

"What?" Brendan called back. "Are you ok?"

"I'm just peachy." Bosco replied with a little chuckle, although he couldn't figure out what was so funny. "Just keep talking to me." His chattering had decreased, which he knew was probably not a good sign.

"That's a good idea" Grace replied. "Keep him talking and try to keep him focused. Otherwise he may get confused and then eventually he'll loose consciousness."

"Madeline!" Steven, having been listening to the conversation, called out to his wife. "Madeline, I'm here, baby. Why doesn't she answer me? Madeline!" He cried, becoming more frantic. "We have to get her out! We can't wait!" And with that he was running towards the end of the bridge and then down the bank towards the ice covered water.

Brendan and Carlos managed to catch him among the rocks at the edge of the ice.

"Whoa! Stop. You can't go out there. The ice isn't thick enough. It'll never hold you. You're too big." Brendan argued.

"We have to do something! We can't just stand here!" Steven pleaded.

Bosco's call caught the group's attention. "Ff.f.finney. How…much……….."

Brendan recognizing the change in Bosco's voice, the slight slurring of his words, responded. "Hey, man. They're coming, ok. Just hang on. Talk to me, Bosco."

"Can't…hold…..not …much ..longer."

"Just hold on, Bosco, okay. I'm coming to help you." With that, Brendan started stripping off his coat, gun belt, uniform shirt, and vest.

"What are you doing?" Grace asked, grabbing him by the arm and making him face her. "You can't go out there."

"Look, I'm a small guy. I may be able to make it to them. I have to try." Finney replied, slipping his feet out of his shoes.

"You're crazy." Grace replied calmly, although her heart was beating out of her chest. "We'll just end up with three of you to resc…"

She was cut of by Brendan placing a finger to her lips. He stared into her eyes as if he were about to say something.

"What?"

"Nothing…..just…we're still on for tonight, ok." Brendan replied.

Moving to the edge of the ice, he got down on his knees and placed one hand out onto it testing it. Moving slowly and as lightly as possible, he crawled across. He avoided the few places where he could tell the ice was thinner, and was surprised that it was actually sturdier than he anticipated. As he approached the edge of the hole made by Madeline and Bosco's fall, he moved even more cautiously. Finally getting close enough, he reached out and placed his hand on Bosco's gloved hand that was still clinging to the ice. The movement startled Bosco who had his eyes closed and wasn't focusing on what was going on around him. "Easy, partner."

"What……."

"I'm trying to save your sorry butt. That's what. Now, I'm gonna try to pull Madeline towards me, ok."

"Yeah…..sure." Bosco mumbled.

Finney reached out, grabbing Madeline's arm and pulling her towards him and the ice. The weight of her body caused the thin edge of the ice to break off further, but Finney managed to get Madeline partially onto a sturdier area of ice. Moving backward cautiously, he pulled her fully onto the ice, then continued to creep back towards the shoreline. Once he had handed her off to Carlos at the shore, he turned back towards Bosco, ignoring his body's violent shivering.

Reaching the edge of the hole again, he reached out for Bosco. "Ok, man. Let's get you out of here."

But Bosco, confused as to what was happening, began to pull away.

"Whoa. Wait, man. What are you doing?"

"Stttop." Bosco mumbled, trying to push Brendan away. He instead managed to loose his grip on the ice and slipped below the water's surface.

Brendan, seeing Bosco going under, reached out to grab him. He managed to pull him up, but a struggle ensued causing Brendan to shift his weight forward onto a thinner edge of ice. "STOP! BOSCO!" He screamed, but it was too late. The ice under him collapsed and both men plunged into the water's depths.

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"BRENDAN!" Grace shouted in horror, as she watched Brendan fall into the water and disappear along with Bosco. After a few moments, the two surfaced again, with Brendan yelling at Bosco who was still fighting him. Twice more, the two submerged, before Brendan managed to get Bosco under control.

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"Bosco, take it easy, man. Just stop fighting. I've got you." Finney gasped, having finally managed to grab Bosco from behind.

"What…..what's going on?" Bosco muttered, slightly more coherent.

"We're taking a little swim, man. Don't you remember? The crazy lady…the bridge." Finney explained. His whole body shivered as the icy water cut through him like a knife.

"Bridge?"

"Yeah, the bridge." Brendan reiterated as he tried to grab hold of the ice that surrounded them.

"Don't …member. Just singing." Bosco mumbled. "Stupid song."

"It was not a stupid song. It was a Christmas song." Brendan argued.

"Stupd Chrisma Song…..sleepy."

"No, you can't go to sleep, Bosco. Stay awake." Brendan instructed as he pulled them along the ice trying to get closer to the shore.

Several times the ice broke and the two slipped under the icy waters. Bosco panicked each time and Brendan soon found himself struggling with him again. His hands were numb, making fighting Bosco that much harder. And the last time Bosco took him under, he thought that it was all over. His head felt light, his vision dim. He had all but decided to stop fighting it when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm pulling him to the surface and toward the land.

After gaining his footing, Finney was able to pull Bosco out with the help of his rescuer. Collapsing on the ground beside an unconscious Bosco, he looked up expecting to see a member of the rescue squad. His eyes widened as he looked at the sight before him, then around at the high snow covered banks that he didn't recognize. "What? How? You're ….you're…."

"An Elf" the little man snickered in a squeaky voice. Clicking his heals together, he did a happy little Elf dance. Then looking back at Finney's slack jawed expression he commented, "What? You've never seen an Elf before?"

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WHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

For those of you who thought this was going to be a serious Bosco angst fic, I'm sorry. I've had the tumbling over the bridge scene in my head for over a year, but I didn't want to get into a long and serious hurt Bosco fic. So this is the compromise that the muse came up with. I hope you enjoy.

Coming up on A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 3….. Bosco and Finney visit Toyland and meet the man himself, Santa. Will Bosco find the Christmas spirit or will Santa be in for a rude awakening?


	3. A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 3

A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters or places.

After gaining his footing, Finney was able to pull Bosco out with the help of his rescuer. Collapsing on the ground beside an unconscious Bosco, he looked up expecting to see a member of the rescue squad. His eyes widened as he looked at the sight before him, then around at the high snow covered banks that he didn't recognize. "What? How? You're ….you're…."

"An Elf" the little man snickered in a squeaky voice. Clicking his heals together, he did a happy little Elf dance. Then looking back at Finney's slack jawed expression he commented, "What? You've never seen an Elf before?"

Brendan Finney blinked twice thinking surely he must be seeing things. Slowly pushing himself to his feet, he looked down at the little man. He couldn't have been even three feet tall. He wore a red hat with a white fluffy ball on the end of it, a thick green jacket and green pants that came just below his knees, red…..um….tights?......and black boots with little pointed toes. He looked like….well, like an Elf, Brendan decided. But elves didn't exist…

"Oow" Brendan muttered after the little man reached up and pinched his arm.

"We certainly do exist. If we didn't then why did that hurt?" The little man corrected Brendan, his hands now on his hips. "What is it with you overgrown outsiders, always doubting us? I suppose you'll say next that Santa doesn't exist either."

"Santa" Brendan mumbled. He hadn't realized that he'd made his earlier comment out loud, but he assumed he must have unless Elves were telepathic. "Oh, great. I'm losing my mind."

The Elf chuckled. "Well, what better place to lose it. I'm Simon. Simon Alexander. My friends call me Twinkletoes." He commented, doing another little dance. "But you can call me Simon. Come along now. The Missus will be wondering where I am. Besides, we have to get Maurice into some dry clothes before he freezes to death. You look like you could use a dry set yourself."

Brendan looked at the Elf curiously. "Maurice. How'd you know his name is Maurice?"

"The same way I know yours is Brendan. What else do you expect from Santa's chief Elf?" Simon asked. "Help me out here." He commented, grabbing Bosco by one arm and pulling him into a sitting position.

Brendan, not knowing what else to do, grabbed Bosco's other arm and along with Simon half dragged him over an adjacent snow bank to a waiting…. sleigh? "Are those reindeer?" Brendan asked.

"Yep."

With Brendan's help Simon lay Bosco down in the sleigh and covered him with a big furry blanket. Climbing into the sleigh and grabbing the reins, he glanced back at Brendan. "Well, climb aboard."

Brendan stood there with his mouth agape, pointing to the sleigh and then to the reindeer. "But….they…um….do they….um…"

"What? FLY?" Simon cackled when Finney nodded his head. "Of course they don't fly, silly. Do you see any wings on them? That's an old wives tale that developed over years of parents embellishing the story of Santa Claus. Reindeer flying….hehehe." Simon could barely contain himself.

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Brendan bent down to look at his reflection in Simon's Elf size mirror. "Bosco's never going to let me live this one down." He muttered.

"Hey, Brendan. Give me a hand over here, will ya?" Simon grunted, as he tried to pull Bosco's wet shirt over his head.

Brendan turned to look at him. "Oh no. No way. When he wakes up, I'm not going to be the one to take the blame for him being dressed like this." Brendan answered, pointing down to his own red Elf suite, complete with green tights and pointy toed boots. "How did you manage to have clothes to fit us?"

"You wouldn't believe the number of visitors we have up here. Most of them accidental and for some reason they can't seem to stay out of the water." Simon replied, shaking his head, as he continued to change Bosco's clothes.

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"Ahhhhhhhhh…." Bosco mumbled, pulling the blanket around him up to his chin, but not opening his eyes. "

"Bosco? Bosco, hey partner." Brendan spoke softly as Bosco cracked his eyelids open.

Bosco stared at him a minute, a bewildered look on his face, then suddenly began to grin, then chuckle. "I must have hit my head….in the fall….I'm seeing things…you……you……hahaha…..you look like…..an Elf…hehe….tights….how gay is that?"

"Um, Bosco…" Brendan replied, then pointed to Simon.

Bosco turned his head, a lopsided grin still on his face. He jumped, startled when he saw Simon, standing beside him with his arms crossed, a less than amused look on his face.

"What's wrong with tights? They're warm and they set off the knickers." Simon huffed.

"WHOA! WHOA!" Bosco shouted, and scrambled backward. He looked back and forth between Finney and Simon. "What's going on?" He finally asked Brendan.

"It's ok, Bosco. Just relax, man. I can explain." Brendan answered, holding his hands up towards Bosco.

"Explain? Explain?" Bosco questioned, throwing the blanket off of himself and scrambling to his feet. He stumbled, looking around the small room, trying to figure out where he was and what had happened.

"Take it easy, man." Brendan urged, grabbing Bosco's arm to steady him. "You nearly died out there."

"Don't….don't touch me." Bosco muttered, pulling his arm from Finney's hand. Turning abruptly, he jumped back as he saw his reflexion in Simon's mirror. His mouth dropped open, then moved a couple of times as if he were trying to speak. All he managed to do was point to the mirror and grunt. His face twisted unnaturally as his ears turned a bright shade of red.

"Uggggghhhhhh……Ugggggaaaaahhhh……whaaaaaaaaaaaa…….whooooo……" He clinched his fists and turned back to face Finney and Simon.

"I told you the yellow tights were not a good idea, man." Finney mumbled to Simon, as he began to back away from Bosco.

"WHO DID THIS TO ME?" Bosco finally managed to scream.

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"Honest, man. That's exactly what happened." Brendan finally managed to get Bosco to calm down enough to let him at least explain what had happened, although he had thought for a few moments that Bosco was going to either stroke out or kill someone, likely him.

Bosco chuckled, then shook his head. Stepping up to Finney, their faces inches apart, his look became more serious. "Do you realize how insane that is? Huh….some ELF pulled us out of the water and brought us here in a sleigh….and I was freezing to death, so you let him dress me in yellow tights and this red outfit, because he didn't have any other colored tights that would fit a man my size. IT'S INSANE, FINNEY!" He snapped, then his voice became low again. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not funny. Now you take me back to the precinct…NOW!"

"I….I can't Bosco. I don't know how we got here. Only the Elf knows." Brendan answered, his eyes not meeting Bosco's.

"The Elf. The Elf! You mean the midget in the Halloween costume? Elves don't exist, Finney!" Bosco shouted.

"OUCH!" Rubbing his arm, Bosco turned to glare down at Simon.

"If we don't exist, then why did that hurt? And we're dwarfs, you idiot! Not midgets." Simon scowled back at Bosco.

"You…you pinched me." Bosco was incredulous. "Why you little…."

Brendan stepped between Bosco and Simon just in time. "Come on, Bosco. Take it easy, man. He did save your life."

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"No way. NO WAY! You've gotta be out of your mind!" Bosco shouted at Finney and Simon, as he looked at the sleigh before them.

"Ok, you can walk then." Simon replied, climbing up on the sleigh and motioning for Brendan to get in.

Brendan, exhausted by the situation and trying to deal with Bosco, did not protest. He climbed into the sleigh, deciding that Bosco could fend for himself.

Simon looked back at Bosco one more time.

"Uh uh. I'm not going anywhere in that thing unless you tell me where we're going." Bosco replied, crossing his arms.

Simon sighed. "We're going to Toyland to see if Santa knows what to do with you two."

"Santa" Bosco couldn't hold back the chuckle. "Oh, that's a good one. Real funny." Shaking his head from side to side, he added. "I don't buy it."

"Suit yourself. It's a long walk." Simon replied, shaking the reins and starting the reindeer forward.

Bosco watched them for several yards, then looked around, seeing the moonlight reflecting off of the white snow and the dark forest all around him. Biting his lip, he looked back towards the sleigh. "Hey…..hey, wait up!" He shouted and began to run after it, the silver bells on his little pointed boots jingling as he ran.

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Disclaimers: I do not own Santa, Toyland, or anything else Christmas. No offense intended to anyone with regard tosexual preferences or to those with shorter statures than others. I felt that those reactions were true to Bosco's character in the context of the story and so I was true to the muse.

And yeah, I know I lied. Santa will be here soon. Don't worry.


	4. A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 4 of 4

A Cold Winter's Night, Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Brendan Finney stood, looking around in amazement, as Bosco stood with his arms crossed, grumbling under his breath. They were in a huge building. There were Elves working on toys of all sorts as far as you could see. And Simon had gone to find Santa, or so he claimed.

"Wow!" Brendan commented. "How cool is this?"

Bosco just shot him an annoyed look.

"Ho Ho Ho, amazing isn't it?" A man in a red suit with a fluffy white beard bellowed, causing Brendan to jump.

"You're……" Brendan pointed at the man, not quite finding the words to speak.

"Nicholas Claus, the Sixth." The man introduced himself, holding a hand out for Brendan to shake. "But you can call me Santa….hehe." He chuckled. "It's good to see you, Brendan….and Maurice." Santa added, glancing over at Bosco.

He was about to step over to him and offer him a hand until he saw the look on Bosco's face.

Bosco stood, arms crossed, a scowl on his face. He bounced every so slightly on the balls of his feet, biting the inside of his cheek in an effort to control his anger. 'First I wake up dressed like a circus freak and now this bozo thinks I'm gonna believe he's Santa…hmph.'

"Hello, Maurice. It's been a long time." Santa said quietly.

Bosco smirked, then his expression turned more serious. "Listen, you jag-OOW!" Bosco yelped, as Finney elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Bosco, it's Santa. You can't say that to…"

Bosco stepped closer, until he was right in Brendan's face. "FINNEY! HE'S NOT SANTA. SANTA DOESN'T EXIST!" He shouted. "OWWWW!"

Bosco rubbed his arm briskly, glaring back at the supposed Santa.

"If I'm not real, Maurice, then why.."

"THAT'S IT!" Bosco screamed, throwing his arms out to his sides for emphasis. "THE NEXT PERSON THAT PINCHES ME, ELBOWS ME, OR IN ANY WAY LAYS EVEN A FINGER ON ME, IS GOING TO JAIL!" His blue eyes flicked back and forth wildly from Santa to Finney to Simon as he shouted, his face almost as red as his suit. "DO YOU HEAR ME? J.A.I.L! FOR ASSAULTING A POLICE OFFICER! AND I DON'T CARE WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" He clinched his fists together until his knuckles were white.

Santa, Simon, and Finney just looked at each other, then Santa looked Bosco up and down. Slowly a grin began to form on his lips as he took in the sight of the little man before him, red faced, brown curls frazzled, wearing a red cap and red Elf suit, and….hehehe….yellow tights, screaming about them assaulting a police officer. Santa began to chuckle from deep in his belly and soon Simon and Finney joined in.

Bosco was beside himself. "You think this is funny? Huh! What? The joke's on Maurice. HA HA HA! FUNNY! Ok, does that make you HAPPY? EVERYBODY HAPPY? EVERYBODY HAVING FUN? CAUSE I'M JUST ROLLING HERE!" Bosco turned, pacing back and forth, shaking his head and muttering to himself, still clinching his fists.

"Maurice" Santa said quietly.

"Don't call me that!" Bosco snapped.

"Whatever happened to that sweet little boy that I knew?" Santa asked.

"He turned into the Grinch." Finney interjected.

"Shut up, Finney!" Bosco growled, shoving Brendan. He'd had all of this he was going to take.

"Don't push me." Finney gave Bosco a little shove in return.

And one shove precipitated another until finally the two were on the floor in a ball of arms and legs, kicking, punching, yelling….

Santa looked at Simon and rolled his eyes. "Boys…..Maurice…Brendan…stop….STOP THAT!" He shouted, as his hat was knocked off his head when he tried to separate the two.

Finally grabbing each by their collars, he managed to pull them apart and to their feet, huffing from the effort. "Stop that, I said. What's gotten into you two?"

Brendan suddenly took another swing at Bosco, but missed as Santa jerked him back. "BRENDAN!"

"HE….HE BIT ME!" Finney shouted.

"I'LL DO MORE THAN THAT, YOU LITTLE…"

"MAURICE!" Santa shouted, shaking Bosco by his collar. "Shush!"

Brendan smirked at Bosco. "Somebody's going to find a lump of coal in their stocking on Christmas morning."

"There's plenty of coal to go around, young man." Santa warned, causing Brendan to drop his chin to avoid Santa's gaze.

"And you, Maurice.." Santa started, releasing Brendan and turning to face Bosco.

"Don't talk to me like you know me. You don't know me!" Bosco growled.

"Oh, I don't, huh? Let's see, how can I convince you that I'm Santa? Ahhh…I know.." Santa rubbed his chin as in thought, then his eyes twinkled. "Ok, Maurice. Do you remember what you got for your third Christmas?"

Bosco scowled at Santa. "I don't even remember my third Christmas. And don't think I'm going to believe that you circle the globe on Christmas Eve and deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls." Bosco said sarcastically. "Or that reindeer can fly!" he added.

Santa laughed quietly. "No, Maurice. I don't expect you to believe that. There's no way for me, even with the help of all these Elves, to cover the globe. It takes tens of thousands of helpers all over the world to get gifts to just those children in need. And we have them too. All sorts of groups, from Toys for Tots, to religious and civic groups, police stations and fire houses, and many generous individuals. It all started with my great, great, great grandfather and grew from there. I only make a few special trips each year. And you were one of those on your third Christmas." Still seeing the disbelief on Bosco's face, he continued. "Do you remember Bosco Bear?"

Bosco was momentarily stunned, but finally regained his composure. "My mom gave me Bosco Bear." He said quietly.

Finney, watching in amusement, grinned. 'Bosco Bear…Bosco with a bear…or better yet, taking his nickname from a teddy bear." He chuckled without realizing it, causing Bosco and Santa to frown at him and Simon to elbow him and shake his head.

Santa focused on Bosco again. "Well actually, she did and she didn't. That was a very tough year for the Boscorelli family. Mikey was just a baby. Your father was between jobs. And you had been in the hospital for almost two weeks with pneumonia. Your mother had no idea how she could afford to by any presents and a concerned neighbor contacted us. So we…Simon was in on this one if I'm not mistaken…" Santa said, looking at Simon who nodded in agreement. "We left a few gifts outside your door, a few days early in fact. And, if memory serves me correctly, the neighbor reported that some little boy found Bosco Bear before Christmas had a chance to get here."

Bosco swallowed hard, not knowing how this guy could know about that. Once he thought about it, he did vaguely remember being in the hospital. And he remembered finding Bosco Bear early. His mom had been stitching Boscorelli onto the bear's sweater, but Bosco found him before she was finished. And Bosco Bear became his constant companion.

Santa could see the wheels turning as Bosco chewed on the inside of his cheek. "And then there were the skateboards." Santa said with a grin. "That was the Christmas after your parents separated. You and Mikey begged for those skateboards and Santa delivered. Although, I don't think your Ma was very happy about that."

"Mikey wiped out ramping off the steps and broke his arm." Bosco replied quietly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he remembered Rose's reaction.

"Well, boys will be boys." Santa chuckled. "How is Mikey anyway?"

Bosco's eyes shot up. "Mikey's dead" he almost whispered, then turned and stalked away.

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"Maurice" Santa called quietly. He found Bosco standing outside in the falling snow, shivering.

Bosco ignored him.

"I'm sorry about Mikey. I didn't know, but I'm sure it must be difficult. I know you were close. Why don't you come back inside? It's cold out tonight." Santa placed a hand on Bosco's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

"I want to go home. I don't know how we got here, but I want to go home. Now." Bosco reiterated, turning to face Santa with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, that's not possible, Maurice. Not just yet. You see, you're here for a reason. I need your help tonight with a few special stops."

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"Oh, come on, Maurice. Where's your Christmas spirit?" Brendan teased Bosco.

"I haven't picked out toys for kids since Emily and Charlie were little." Bosco grumbled.

"Yeah, but how hard can it be? What'd Santa say? Rachel is six and Andrew is four." Brendan asked.

Bosco shook his head, as Simon unlocked the door in front of them and pushed it open. "Ok, guys. Here's your toy store. Just don't take all night."

Brendan rushed forward, as Bosco shook his head and sighed.

"Wow! Would you look at this?" Brendan was amazed, as Bosco was soon, at the many long rows of toys before them.

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"What about this?" Brendan asked, holding up a brightly colored turbo blaster water gun.

"Too messy." Bosco replied, "The Mom would hate you. What about this?" Bosco held up an army action figure.

"Sort of violent isn't it?" Brendan answered.

"As if your water gun is not...besides, it's patriotic." Bosco argued.

Moving along to the next row, Brendan picked up a toy robot that turned into an airplane. "This is cool. Wish we'd had these when I was a kid." He held it out to Bosco, who shook his head no.

"He's only four, Finney."

"He's only four, Finney." Brendan repeated mockingly, putting the toy down with an annoyed look.

Bosco moved on down the row, looking at the toys as if he were in serious thought. "WHOA! Lincoln logs! I always wanted Lincoln logs!" Squating down, he read the label, making sure there were no pieces that were too small for a four year old. "He definitely has to have these." Picking up the box, he moved it over to a small pile they had started.

"Little Susie, she eats, drinks, and wets." Finney laughed, holding the doll out to get Bosco's approval.

"Oh no! No way. I gave Emily a doll like that once. I thought Faith was going to kill me." He let out an involuntary chuckle, remembering Faith's reaction when she'd returned to work the day after Christmas. _Bosco, the next time you buy Emily something that eats, drinks, pees, or poops, I'm going to kill you, so help me. And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. _

Finney watched, as Bosco was lost in his own little world for a few moments, laughing and with a genuine smile on his face for the first time in hours. Then he looked at Brendan with a little mischievous grin. "On second thought, every little girl should have a dolly that wets." Taking the doll from Finney, he added it to their pile of toys.

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"What in the world is taking them so long?" Santa asked. He had a schedule to keep and they needed to get started.

"I don't know, Santa. I told them to hurry." Simon replied.

Upon entering the toy warehouse, Santa and Simon both stopped and their mouths dropped open as Brendan, Elf suit and all, came riding by on a bicycle with training wheels attached, tooting the little horn on the handle bar.

"You'll never catch me!" He shouted over his shoulder to Bosco.

"Maurice?" Santa called out, shocked at the site of Bosco in his yellow tights on a battery operated child sized police motorcycle chasing Brendan Finney and yelling into a microphone. "POLICE! I SAID PULL IT OVER, YOU MORON!" Then as he rode passed Santa, he glanced up saying, "I always wanted to be a motorcycle cop."

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Bosco and Finney had been surprised when they left Toyland in a helicopter instead of a sleigh. Bosco was even more surprised when they drove into New York City in an SUV and actually found themselves in the 55th precinct. But he held his tongue since Santa had already told them that they weren't going home until this mission was over. He hesitated to exit the vehicle when they stopped outside of an apartment building.

"I can't bee seen like this. This is our precinct." He argued with Santa.

"Maurice, no one will ever recognize you. And if they do, they'll think that you're doing this for the police station. Come on." Santa insisted.

Bosco sighed and came out grumbling about how he'd never live this down if someone recognized him. He followed behind Santa with Finney beside him and Simon behind him, trying to hide behind Santa's big red bag whenever they passed people. Finally Santa stopped outside an apartment door and knocked.

"That's it? You just knock on the door? Whatever happened to climbing down the chimney?" Bosco asked.

"He's expecting us. Besides I don't do chimneys anymore. Too tight a squeeze, even with the low carb diet." Santa answered, just as the door began to open.

"Hello" a middle-eastern man answered the door eagerly. "Thank you so much for doing this. You don't know what it will mean to my children."

Bosco looked at the man more closely thinking something about him looked familiar.

"Well, I know it's been a tough few months." Santa replied. "We're glad to be able to help." Santa sat the sack he was carrying down just inside the door.

"It has been difficult." The man agreed. "But I'm almost healed." He answered, turning his head and touching a large healing scar on his left cheek with his finger.

'The man from that convenience store robbery.' Bosco realized. He remembered now. They were called to the scene of a convenience store robbery and the clerk had been shot in the face. Miraculously, he was awake and able to talk to them. When they discovered that the man had been threatened a few days before, the detectives were called in and Faith had freaked out when she saw the man. Bosco at first had not realized why. Now, he reflexively fingered the healed scar on his own cheek, realizing that the man must have reminded Faith of when he was shot.

"Hey, I know you. You are one of the cops that came to the store that day." The man suddenly said, looking straight at Bosco.

"What?" Bosco snapped out of his memory and stared in horror at the man before him. "Uh…no, you must be mistaken."

"No. I could never forget the people who helped me." The man answered, extending a hand to Bosco. "Thank you so much, Officer…."

"Ah….Officer Sullivan." Bosco replied quickly, shaking the man's hand. "Officer John Sullivan."

"Thank you, Officer Sullivan."

"Well, we had better get going." Santa interrupted. "We still have a few more stops to make."

The man thanked them all again and as they turned to go, he called out merrily to Bosco. "Oh, by the way, Officer Sullivan. I love the suit."

Bosco looked back quickly, just in time to see the man wink at him. His ears turned red; and as the others chuckled, he again began grumbling under his breath.

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"This next lady took her grandson in after he was removed from the parent's home." Santa explained, as they stood outside of another apartment.

Much to his relief, Bosco didn't recognize the elderly black woman who answered the door. "Oh, God bless you." She muttered, her hands going to her lips as she tried to contain her laughter.

While Santa carried the bag into the house and dropped it next to the scrawny Christmas tree, Bosco looked around at he small but tidy apartment. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small head peaking through a doorway. Bosco recognized the boy. He and Ty had been called to a domestic disturbance a few months back. The kid's father had beaten up the mother, although she didn't want to press charges. Bosco found the boy hiding in a back room with a swollen eye and a bloody lip. It was a sad situation, but he was glad to know that at least now the kid was safe. Bosco glanced at Santa and then back at the doorway, seeing that the boy was looking at him, his eyes huge. Placing a finger to his mouth, Bosco gave him the signal to be quiet and then pointed to Santa. The little boy looked back and forth between the two and nodded, a big grin on his face.

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"These people aren't expecting us. In fact, I'm not even sure they're home yet." Santa spoke quietly as the four of them climbed up a fire escape.

Bosco and Finney each carried a red bag over their shoulder.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bosco asked, as the four stopped outside of an apartment window. "To leave presents on the fire escape, I mean."

Santa laughed quietly. "Don't be silly, Maurice. We're not leaving them on the fire escape." Santa turned to Simon, who handed him a small tool that Bosco could have sworn was designed topick locks.

"That's….that's…"

"Don't worry, Maurice. I'm an old pro at this." Santa advised as he began to try to jimmy the lock.

Bosco grabbed his hand, pulling it down. "Wait. You can't just break into somebody's apartment. What if we get caught? I'm not going to jail. I..I can't go to jail looking like this!" Bosco exclaimed, pointing down to his Elf suit in a near panic.

"Nobody's going to jail, Maurice. Calm down. I've done this thousands of times." Santa assured him.

"Come on, Bosco. Relax man and enjoy the moment." Finney said, causing Bosco to look at him like he had grown another head.

"I'm not believing this." Bosco muttered, shaking his head and praying that they wouldn't get caught.

Soon Santa had the window open and was climbing through it.

"He's pretty agile for a fat old man, huh?" Finney commented quietly to Bosco.

"I heard that, Brendan." Santa replied, as he reached out the window for one of the bags.

After both bags had been deposited, Santa climbed back out the window. "There now. All done." He said, dusting his hands off.

"Good. Can we go home now?" Bosco asked, still scared to death that they would get caught on this fire escape with two of New York's finest in tights and Elf suits.

"No. We're not leaving. They should be getting home any minute." Santa replied, much to Bosco's dismay.

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It was more like twenty minutes, but finally they heard the front door creaking open. When the lights flicked on, Bosco stood slack jawed as Steven and Madeline entered with Steven carrying a sleepy little boy and Madeline holding a little girl's hand.

"I'm so sorry, Steven." She was saying, when Rachel interrupted. "LOOK! PRESENTS!"

She ran forward to the many presents that had been stacked on the coffee table since the Christmas tree had burned down.

"Look Andy!" She shouted, causing the little boy in Steven's arms to look up curiously.

"Oh, Steven! Who could have done this?" Madeline cried out.

Santa stood silently with a smile on his face watching Maurice as he watched this family. He was surprised to see a lonely tear trickled down Bosco's cheek and could have sworn he saw Maurice's heart grow two sizes in those few moments.

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"Thanks, Santa" Bosco mumbled.

"Maurice? Maurice, baby."

Bosco slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on Rose's worried face. He shivered slightly and pulled the blanket up closer to his chin. "Ma?"

"Oh, thank heavens. You had me so worried, Maurice." Slapping him on the arm, she added. "You're going to be the death of me yet, Maurice. When are you going to learn to stay out of trouble?" She chided, but still smiled.

"Whaaaa…..what happened?" Bosco muttered. Looking around, he realized that he was in a hospital room and remembered the lady and the bridge. "Madeline?"

"If that's the lady from the bridge, she's fine. She left her husband a few hours ago to pick up their kids." Rose replied.

"Oh. Good." Bosco said with relief.

After a few minutes of chit chat, Rose asked. "Are you up for any company? There's someone here who wants to see for himself that you're ok."

Bosco shrugged his shoulders. "Sure….I guess."

"I'll send him in." Rose answered.

A few moments after Rose exited, Brendan Finney stuck his head inside the door as if asking permission to come in.

"Hey, partner." Bosco commented and coughed slightly.

Brendan was taken back a bit. Bosco had called him many things, many that could not be repeated, but partner was never one of them.

"Hey, Bosco. How are you feeling, man?" Brendan asked quietly.

"Ok, thanks to you. That was really stupid, by the way." Bosco added.

Brendan looked at him confused. "What?"

"Coming out onto the ice like that. You should have waited for the rescue team. But….I'm glad you didn't. Thank you." Bosco said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Finney replied, stepping up next to the hospital bed. "Man, you really gave me a scare out there."

"Yeah, you're not the only one." Bosco answered.

"So, what does your doctor say? You were really out of it for a while. Longer than I was, I'm told." Brendan commented.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to him. I must have been out of it. I had some really crazy dreams." Bosco replied, remembering some crazy dream he had been having.

"So long as they didn't involve Santa and Elf suits with tights." Brendan chuckled, then stopped as he saw Bosco staring at him with wide eyes.

"Yellow tights." Bosco muttered, watching Finney's face. The room became eerily silent, as the two men stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.

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Disclaimer #2: I do not own the Grinch, Santa, Toyland, anything Elfish, any turbo toys, Lincoln Logs, Little Susie weewee, or anything else for that matter. But I hope you enjoyed as I did.

Disclaimer # 3: Toys for Tots belongs to the US Marine Corp.

Note: The Bosco Bear story can also be found in Collision Course, Chapter 74.

A Merry Christmas to all.


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